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Message from Sheriff Timothy B. Howard


Timothy B. Howard,
Sheriff

Next month is Alcohol Awareness month and with the prom and graduation seasons soon to be arriving, our Office has now teamed up with other sheriff's offices across Western New York to promote a safety net for young people in Erie, Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties. It's called the Tipline and concerned adults, teachers, students and friends now have a place to call 24 hours a day to report underage drinking parties or other activities that are harmful to the healthy, safety and welfare of young people.

You know you care...make the call"- 1-800-851-1932

The Tipline is anonymous, confidential and free; and it takes all of 30 seconds to make the call.

By providing basic information (i.e. location of party, estimated number of young people attending, what's being served, if adults are present, etc) a difference can be made, tragedy diverted and lives saved.

A few years ago, the Regional Action Phone, Inc. (RAP) teamed up with the Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (GCSA) in establishing the Tipline. RAP and GCSA recently reached out to our Office and asked us to join. I thought it was a great idea because anytime you can help divert a potential tragedy (underage drinking; driving while intoxicated, etc.) the better and safer a community is. A proactive approach to police work is much better than a reactive approach.

Last year, 139 calls came in to the Tipline; in 2007, 111 calls came in from towns and/or villages of the counties covered. As a result, parties were broken up, arrests made and in some cases, parties stopped before they ever began. I'm looking forward to bringing this program to our communities here in Erie County and enlightening school districts to the Tipline.